PG boys start strong, hold on to top J-M

Chris Stiles

Tuesday

Jan 22, 2019 at 10:16 PM

CLIMAX — The Providence Grove High School varsity boys basketball team started strong on Tuesday night, especially on the defensive end, and rode the first-half momentum to hold on late and win 53-48 over Jordan-Matthews.

“The key tonight was our start — we held them to single-digit quarters back-to-back in the first half,” PG coach Ben Brickhouse said. “That gave us a cushion to maintain the lead. They’re a tough, gritty team and coach (Rodney Wiley) is a great guy.”

PG (7-9, 2-5 in Piedmont Athletic Conference) held J-M (5-13, 1-5) to six points in the first quarter and nine in the second, taking a 26-15 lead at halftime.

“There’s always room for improvement, but we did a good job of communicating and we rebounded well,” Brickhouse said. “There were times we left shooters (open) but we communicated enough to get the stops we needed.”

The Patriots then withstood a fourth-quarter run by the Jets, who closed to within three points when Huston Causey hit a 3-pointer with 7 seconds left, before Evan Taylor sealed the win with two free throws.

“In (The Courier-Tribune Christmas Invitational), we were up 10 going to the fourth quarter and (J-M) came back,” Brickhouse said. “I told our guys we have to be ready — and we weathered the storm and got some clutch baskets late.”

Taylor led PG with 14 points and Jordan Hodges scored 12. Senior guard Daylin Locklear scored 10, surpassing the 1,000-point mark for his career on an underneath layup with 5:45 remaining.

“It was good, it was exciting,” Locklear said. “I knew I had one more point (to hit 1,000) and I wasn’t shooting good tonight so I drove inside to the rim.”

“I’ve coached him for two seasons and I love that kid,” Brickhouse said. “We have a lot in common — when the game’s on the line, we’re not nervous, we’re ready. He’s worked hard and he deserves this.”

Camden Fuquay led J-M with 22 points, including 16 in the third quarter.

After J-M scored the game’s first four points, the Patriots finished the first quarter with an 11-2 run to take an 11-6 lead.

J-M closed to 15-13 in the second before PG ended the half on an 11-2 run to take a 26-15 lead at the break.

Led by Fuquay’s strong third-quarter performance, J-M inched to within two at 35-33 with 2:31 left in the third, but a 7-0 run to end the quarter gave PG a 42-33 lead going to the fourth.

J-M threatened to close the gap a couple of times in the fourth before their final push fell just short.

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